The Osceola times., 1887-08-13
TRAVELS IN SPAIN.
description Of . Visit to Places Famed IN
Romance And History.

Romance And History.
An excursion from Madrid to the
Escurial enables the traveller to see
that huge pile of granite, only exceeded
IN size by the Pyramids, and called by
Spaniards the eighth wonder of the
world. erected by the monk King
Philip III. 1t is a quadrilateral struct-
ure, climbing up hill. as it were. con-
tanning apalace, church, convent and
clolsters. II is seen from the railway,
hrst on one side and then on the other.
After leaving the station, going to
Madrid. i looked at it, and could
scarcely believe my eyes, for though
built of grey unpolished stone, the ris-
ing sun made it shine like FURNISHED
silver. An excursion from Madrid TO
Toledo will occupy a day satisfactorily.
Toledo is dying and will be a dead
city. This may be truly said of all the
ancient cities of Spain. Barcelona.
Valentia, Carthagena. Malaga and
Cadiz, as sea-ports, may escape longer
than the inland cities, but they are all
doomed. Like causes produce like ef-
fects. Assyria. Greece, Rome, Carthage
all paid the penalty which follows in
the path of great wealth, with a people
having no sound moral principles.
Wealth brought corruption, enervation,
decay, death. Spain is a decaying ma
ton (France, l fear. will follow herr,
and the travellers of the future will
visit the remains of Spanish cities much
as they now do Damascus, Thebes and
the ruins of other cities of bygone
ages. This thought came to me as
| walked the silent and deserted
streets of Toledo. once the favorite
city of Ferdinand and Isabel, and of
the founder of the Inquisition, which
building is now habited by "holy
women" and is near a mad house. In
the fine cathedral. noticed curious
effect produced by the light coming
obliquely in the form of an eclipse.
from IA cupola in the rear of the choir
upon life-size images, projecting from
the cornice.
An all-night ride from Madrid brings
you to Cordova at an early hour-siX
o'clock. By continuing in the train
Seville is reached in three hours. You
will have ample time to see Cordova
before eleven o'c.ock, when the next
train leaves for Seville; only this last
train takes about twice the time OF the
express.
All the so-called express trains in
Spain 90 at night; the others are toler-
able. Timetables seem to be arranged
with special reference to inconvenience
ing the traveller. One rides in Spain
in the railway because it is faster than
the jackass, but not much. The Ger
man bummel train is grande vitcssc in
comparison. The trains between Cor
dova or Seville and Granada or Malaga
will refresh the travellers memory and
make him renew his anathemas of Span
ish railways
Cordova was once the center of Eu-
ropean civilization, but is now dull aud
almost dead. Those travellers who pro-
fess great knowledge of and interest in
art and architecture may make longer
stay, but the ordinary tourist. like my
self, not strong on churches and church
architecture, can "don the Mosque
(now cathedraD in the time above
given. 1t is considered the most per-
feet specimen extant, or ever erected
of the religious architecture of the
Moors in Spain. Indeed, it is gener-
ally ranked as the finest type in Eu-
rope Of the true temple of Islam. Its
characteristics are: Vastness, original
ity, great simplicity in the distribu-
ton, solidity, severe and massive, great
elegance in the curves and profiles. a
happy combination of lines producing
vistas. In shape it is the Basilica,
adapted to the Moslem worship. Some
idea of its size may be learned from the
fact that with its patio, or court, it cov-
ers over six acres.
The court of oranges, within its en-
closure, is 430 by 2lO feet, and the area
of the whole is GAP by 462 feet. In the
patio there are always trees, especially
palms and expresses. The orange trees
there now are 800 years old. The i'm
sgination is lost when thinking of what
this mosque must have been, with its
roof fretted with gold and bright col
ors. the delicate tracery of its walls, its
myriads of gold and silver lamps, its
numerous arches studded with precious
stones, resting on trunks of porphry,
jasper and other precious marbles. The
"Arabian Nights" seem to be vivdly
brought back to you. But this once
magnificent example of Byzantine art
has shared the fate of the rest of dying
Spain. Charles V. erected Christian
church within its walls, which looks as
incongruous as the French palace
erected by him in the Alhambra.
Whitewash has obliterated its beauti 3.
and ignorance and neglect will make it
among the ruins of the past. y. H.
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